SIVAKASI: Amid buzz over the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, here’s a sobering thought. Illegal dumping of Chinese products in India has reached menacing proportions, threatening the domestic industry’s survival. Take firecrackers. Sivakasi, the manufacturing hub of India’s fireworks industry, has reported a whopping 35 per cent drop in sales this year because of proliferation of Chinese products. Remember, Chinese fireworks are banned in India, yet on an average, at least one cracker container slips through our ports every alternate day.

With Diwali round the corner, members of the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA) have thrown up their hands in exasperation. Pointing out that Chinese goods have actually reached sales points across the country, they demanded an immediate nationwide ban on their sale.

The livelihood of nearly five lakh people who depend on the industry is at stake, they warned.

Till last year, the Sivakasi industry was getting big orders of something like `50 lakh from wholesalers. Those orders have dropped in a big way, TANFAMA president G Abiruban revealed here on Monday. “We met Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman on September 11 and urged her to send a letter to all states to prevent the sale of the banned crackers,” he said. She promised action, he added. The Modi government prides itself on pulling no punches even while interacting with visiting heads of state. Will it do so with Xi on illegal dumping? Watch this space.

Ban Sale Immediately,industry urges Govt

Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association president G Abiruban appealed to Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman to curb the sale of banned Chinese firecrackers across India. She has promised help, Abiruban said.

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